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Williams Arena
"The Barn"
Location	1925 University Ave SE Minneapolis, MN 55455
Broke ground	1927
Opened	1928
Owner	University of Minnesota
Operator	University of Minnesota
Construction cost	$650,000
Former names	Minnesota Field House (1928-1950)
Tenants
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Men's & Women's Basketball, Men's & Women's Gymnastics, Volleyball and Wrestling) 1951 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
Capacity
14,625 (Arena proper) 5,700 (Sports Pavilion)

The entrance

Williams Arena is on the Twin Cities main campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's and women's basketball teams. Initially known as the Minnesota Field House (another building has that name today), it was constructed in the 1920s and opened in 1928. The arena was remodeled in the 1950s, and renamed Williams Arena after Dr. Henry L. Williams, the football coach from 1900 to 1921. The building is known affectionately as "The Barn," and its student section is known as The Barnyard.

During a 1950s renovation, it was divided into two separate arenas within one building. The larger one for basketball and the smaller one for hockey were called Williams Arena until March 2, 1985, when the hockey section was renamed Mariucci Arena after John Mariucci. The hockey team moved into a new building across the street from Williams in the early 1990s. This building was also named Mariucci Arena. The old Mariucci Arena within Williams was remodeled into the Sports Pavilion and now houses the volleyball, wrestling and gymnastic teams.

Williams Arena features a unique raised floor design. The court surface is raised above the ground approximately two feet so that players' benches, officials tables, etc are actually below the court. The same goes for fans with the first row looking at players at about knee-level. Normally, other than the officials and those players actively playing, only head coaches however are allowed to be on court itself. The raised floor is one of only a few remaining examples left and contributes significantly to the historic aura of the 80 year-old arena.

From 1950 until the opening of Marriott Center at Brigham Young University in 1971, it had the largest capacity of any collegiate basketball arena in the country. Also, it is one of only a few basketball stadiums that still has a raised floor. Memorial Gymnasium at Vanderbilt University and Robertson Memorial Field House at Bradley University are two other arenas with raised floors. The Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University was also constructed in 1928, and held the honor of being the highest capacity arena until the remodeling of Williams Arena in 1950.

When the Gophers basketball team first organized, they played games in the on campus YMCA. In 1896, the team moved into the campus Armory, a large building with gymnasium space for the team to use, even if basketball was not its primary purpose.^[1] They remained in the Armory for almost thirty years. Halfway through the 1924-25 season, coach Harold Taylor moved the team from the University Armory to the Kenwood Armory in downtown Minneapolis.^[2] This significantly increased the attendance; capacity at the University Armory was 2,000, and it was 6,500 at Kenwood. The team only played at Kenwood for a few seasons, however, as the University of Minnesota Field House (later known as Williams Arena) opened partway through the 1927-1928 season. The team moved in on January 31, 1928.^[3]

The venue hosted the 1951 NCAA Men's Division I championship game and the Frozen Four in 1958 and 1966.

Williams arena is located on the Southwest corner of the intersection of University Avenue and 19th Ave. SE in Minneapolis on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, in a section of Minneapolis, Minnesota known as Stadium Village, named for the old Memorial Stadium that stood there until its demolition in 1992. TCF Bank Stadium will be across the street from Williams Arena when it opens in 2009.

Williams Arena at GopherSports.com

1. ^ Hugunin, Marc and Stew Thornley. Minnesota Hoops: Basketball in the North Star State. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2006, pg. 6.
2. ^ Hugunin and Thornley, pg. 50
3. ^ Hugunin and Thornley, pg. 50